The Northern Irishman, 26, won his third tournament of the year on Sunday, recording a seven-stroke victory at the Wells Fargo Classic on the PGA Tour.

In an ominous warning to his rivals, McIlroy has pledged to get even better.

He told BBC Sport: "I think I'm pretty close to playing my best golf. I'm definitely able to feel more equipped to win now."

Although McIlroy believes his exceptional form is down to being happy away from golf, he revealed he has considered quitting at 40.

"If you're happy off the golf course, you're going to play better on it," he added. "I'm playing well on it, so it must mean that everything is going well off it."

McIlroy, who won the WGC Match Play title two weeks ago, now has six top-10 finishes in his past eight PGA Tour starts.

But he is surrounded by a talented field of young challengers, including Masters champion Jordan Spieth, 21, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler, who responded to suggestions he was overrated with victory at the Players Championship.

"I feel like I'm in a generation with a lot of young guys that are coming up and I want to be the best of this generation," said McIlroy.

"I want to win a lot more tournaments, I can win a lot more majors. I haven't put a number on it because I don't want to put that burden on myself. I just want to be better than everyone else.

"I've put in a lot of hard work over the past 12 months, just working that little bit harder, just those tiny little differences that separate a top-five finish from a win."

McIlroy, who already has four majors to his name, does not intend to play into middle-age, saying: "I don't anticipate playing senior golf or championship golf."

Of his potential retirement at the age of 40, he said: "That's 14 years away, that's longer than most sports people have, and I've already had an eight-year career in golf.

"Twenty five years should be enough to help me achieve what I want to. If there comes a time when I feel I can't win or give it my best I'd very happily hang up the sticks and do something else."

On not being able to replicate 'phenomenon' Tiger Woods

McIlroy still has a long way to go to catch Tiger Woods's 14 major titles. Woods, like McIlroy, has faced constant media scrutiny for not only his performances on the course, but also for private relationships.

Twelve months ago, McIlroy ended his engagement with Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki days after they issued wedding invitations - admitting "the problem is mine".

He then settled a long-running legal dispute with his former management company, Horizon Sports Management.

"The one thing I've learned from Tiger, from getting to know him, is how hard he works - the ones who work the hardest do the best," said McIlroy.

"I'll never be able to do for golf what Tiger did. He was a phenomenon, he brought so many more people into the game because of his background and how he started on tour.

"It's about balancing life and he's becoming better at that with kids. He's taking being a father very seriously and wants to spend as much time with his kids. Finding that balance between golf and personal life and family is something he's got better at and it's something I'll have to figure out in coming years.

"I'm a very family-orientated person, come from a solid background in terms of my family, my mum and my dad, and it's what I'd want one day with the same family structure."

Why golf takes too long

A recent Sport England survey found that golf participation numbers have dropped by 21,600 over the past year. The number of people playing golf once a week in the year to October 2014 had dropped from 751,900 to 730,300.

(BBC)